The National Governors Association (NGA) winter meeting was expected to center on bipartisan issues. Instead, it opened Thursday with tension over who was – and was not – invited to Saturday night’s black-tie dinner at the White House.
President Donald Trump initially only invited Republicans to the event. He later extended invitations to Democrats, but excluded two in particular: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
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Democrats called the selective invitations a break from precedent.
Eighteen Democratic governors, led by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, responded by saying they would skip White House events unless all 50 governors were invited.
Beshear told CNN the dispute makes the gathering look less productive than intended.
“It’s just a lot of drama. And it’s unnecessary,” he said.
Moore and Polis state their positions
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The National Governors Association meetings began in 1908, during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration.
Polis has said he will attend the broader conference but has not confirmed whether he will attend the dinner, according to The Hill. Moore has indicated he will participate in official NGA events but will not attempt to attend the White House gathering.
Speaking on USA Today’s ‘The Excerpt’ podcast, Moore defended the bipartisan mission of the NGA, calling it a rare space where governors from both parties can work through substantive issues.
“It serves a very unique role where it’s the only place where you watch our nation’s governors, both Democratic and Republican governors, come together to discuss real issues and real topics,” Moore said.
Republican chair in Trump’s crosshairs
The tension hasn’t been limited to Democrats.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the Republican chair of the NGA, reportedly had a tense exchange with Trump over the invitations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump told Stitt, “I can invite whomever I want.“
Stitt said he responded that if the event wasn’t for all 50 governors, the NGA wouldn’t facilitate it.
The disagreement escalated when Trump criticized Stitt on Truth Social, calling him a “RINO” and suggesting he would not support him in a future election.
“We will soon have a Governor in Oklahoma who knows how to accurately write a Press Release to the Public, in this case, to state that I invited, not happily, almost all Democrat Governors to the Governor’s Dinner at the White House,” Trump wrote. “Stitt, a wiseguy, knew this, but tried to get some cheap publicity by stating otherwise.”
The Journal notes Stitt has aligned with Trump on issues such as border security and energy policy, but endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during the 2024 Republican primary before backing Trump in the general election.
Even some Democrats have acknowledged the position Stitt is in, navigating between the White House and a bipartisan governors group.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told the Journal Stitt is “balancing a whole lot of plates in the air right now: the White House on the one hand, his own Republican caucus, governors as well as the Democrats.”
